The Real White Boy Rick Shares Thoughts On Star-Studded Biopic

Richard Wershe, Jr. is more concerned about his freedom than Hollywood's interpretation of his colorful life.

Films on the drug lords of yesterday envoke curiosities from audiences and at times, the inspiration for the glitzy production. When it comes to the film White Boy Rick, its subject could really care less.

Richard Wershe, Jr. became one of the youngest FBI drug informants in American history when he helped take down the biggest movers and shakers on Detriot's drug scene in the late 80s. He was then arrested and sentenced to life in prison on a non-violent drug charge before he turned 18.

Now 49, Wershe was paroled in 2017 by the state of Michigan and was transferred to a Florida facility to complete a separate charge in connection to an operation with stolen cars.

His case has been a wonder for those in and outside of the system given the number of crooked cops and conspiracies surrounding his case. Despite the many documentaries and now a big-budget film starring Matthew McConaughey, Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) and YG depicting his life, Wershe is focused on being outside of the cell walls.

"To be honest I don't think it's really sunk in," he explained to the Detriot Free Press last week. "Maybe because where I'm at I'm not overly excited about it. I can't be at the red carpet premiere for it or see it."

Wershe's sister Dawn Wershe Scott (played by Bel Powley) wasn't thrilled with its perspective of her life or her brother's. "They're trying to say it's based on truth," she told reporters Friday (Sept. 14). "It's really twisted."

Director Yann Demange and producer Scott Franklin reportedly spoke to Wershe a few times a week while creating the film.

"You know maybe when I see [the film] it will feel different but right now, I'm not overly excited about it," Wershe said. Following his parole, Wershe is now expected to leave prison in January 2021. "I never thought I would be here when my dad died. In a lot of ways, I'm blessed. I'm not dead. In the end, God has a plan for me and I'm going to see what that plan is"

Lawmakers have pointed out the flaws in Wershe's case, including Michigan’s former 650-Lifer Law that mandated a term of life without parole for possession of more than six hundred and fifty grams of cocaine or heroin. At the time of his arrest, Wershe attempted to hide 8 kilos of cocaine and $30,000 in cash. The New Yorker notes the law became one of the biggest failures in the so-called war on drugs with the then-governor William G. Milliken calling it "the worst mistake of his career."

For now, Wershe is remaining optimistic and hopeful about his future.

"The worst part is when you wake up and the best part is when you go to sleep because you've done another day," he said. "I never let 'em break me. I did it one day at a time. I always stay strong. I try to work out, I try to read and educate myself. You have my body but you don't have my mind."

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Cardi B continues to utilize all avenues of making longterm dividends. According to The Blast, the "Red Barz" rapper filed for a trademark of her infectious catchphrase "okurrr."

The news site states the mother-of-one will imprint the slogan on T-shirts, jackets, caps, dresses and other clothing items. She once described the phrase as a cold New York City pigeon, and it was featured in one of her first brand commercials with Pepsi that aired during the Super Bowl.

In a February 2019 cover story for Harper's Bazaar, Cardi B discussed her rise to fame and how her focus shifted from paying attention to gossip fodder to making longterm money moves that'll benefit her family.

"I feel like my life is a fairy tale and I'm a princess—rags to riches, people trying to sabotage. Before, I cared about everything—relationship, gossip," she said. "Now I don't feel like I have the time to please people. I don't care about anything anymore—just my career and my kid."

On the music side, the Bronx native recently released her collaboration with Bruno Mars titled "Please Me." The single serves as a follow-up to the remix of Mars' "Finesse" which took over the charts in 2018.

The migration of popular mixtapes from today's top rappers to streaming platforms has left room for error for those who produced the music we adore. This seems to be the case for Joey Bada$$, who has been accused of failing to pay for productions services by Chicago's brandUn DeShay.

DeShay, who also goes by the music alias of Ace Hashimoto, took to Reddit Wednesday (March 20) to share the lack of communication he's had with the Brooklyn's rapper camp over unpaid services. The songs in question are "School High" and "Last Cypher," tracks that were included on Pro Era's breakout compilation mixtape, Peep the Aprocalpyse. Originally released in 2012, the project featured members of the popular posse like Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight and the late Capital STEEZ.

Posted on the Hip Hop Heads channel, DeShay acknowledges the beats were free considering they were on free projects. With the move to platforms like Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, the producer explained how he wasn't contacted for clearances or payment.

"I never asked for bread because technically no one was getting paid," he said. "Until recently (December 12/23/18) Joey re-released the PEEP the Aprocalypse mixtape on all streaming platforms. Therefore generating bread off streams and DID NOT ask my permission, did not do splits or even work out a deal to just buy my share of the publishing from me."

"I hate takin s**t like this public cuz usually I think that s**t is corny asf," he added. "But I'm still tryna avoid taking this to court to retrieve the [payment]. I hope Joey reaches back so we can figure this out... the "producer x rapper" relationship in Hip-Hop deserves some success stories."

Prior to his Reddit post, DeShay posted his frustrations on Twitter back in February.

https://twitter.com/acehashimoto/status/1098791440765743104

VIBE reached out to DeShay who declined to provide a statement on the matter. We also reached out to Joey, who hasn't responded at the time of the DeShay, who was also an original member of Odd Future, has produced the early projects of numerous acts like SZA, Chance The Rapper and Curren$y.

DeShay went on to share how he had a proper business dealing with the late Mac Miller when it came to his debut mixtape, Macadelic.

"He contacted me first about “Aliens Fighting Robots” and sent me paperwork!!!," he said. "We agreed on a price, permissions, splits and that was it. Everyone went home happy and you can now stream Macadelic on Spotify rn. Mac Miller handled his business properly. Be like Mac Miller."

Like DeShay previously stated, the relationship between rappers and producers has always been rooted in miscommunications and questionable deals. Producers like Kenny Beats and Bangladesh have expressed their frustrations over unpaid beats, specifically Bangladesh when it comes to his work with Lil Wayne. With streaming becoming a profitable tool for all aspects of song creation, the relationship should be mended sooner than later.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Wednesday (March 20) the nation would no longer sell semi-automatic guns and riffles. The sweeping legislation went into effect one week after an Australian man opened fire and killed 50 Muslim men, women and children.

"Today I am announcing that New Zealand will ban all military-style semi-automatic weapons. We will also ban all assault rifles," Ardern said at a press conference.

Prime Minister Arden said the new law would take effect Wednesday (March 20) at 3 PM local time and said dealers "should now cease" selling the guns.

"We will ban all high-capacity magazines. We will ban all parts with the ability to convert semi-automatic or any other type of firearm into a military-style semi-automatic weapon. We will ban parts that cause a firearm to generate semi-automatic, automatic or close to automatic gunfire," she continued.

The prime suspect in the attack reportedly obtained a gun license in 2017 and began purchasing more guns in the most following.

"This is just the beginning of the work we need to do," Ardern said.

The prime minister also noted that there are many in New Zealand who obtained their weapons legally and haven't used them for violence. She said a buyback program will be implemented at local police stations ensuring gun owners receive proper compensation for their weapon. Penalties will be put in place for those who don't participate.

The program may cost between $100 million and $200 million, but Prime Minister Arden says it's necessary "to ensure the safety of our communities."